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Tour operators are seeing a growth in the overseas school tour segment in India as international and CBSE institutions are including them as a part of their curriculum.
Shravan Gupta, Executive Director — Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions India, told BusinessLine that in the last five years the number of overseas school tours the company handled has increased.
Increasing interest“Since the trip is optional in most schools, it opens more opportunities for us” and the company has handled 20-25 school trips across India. A decade ago there were not many international schools in the country.As the number of CBSE and international schools that emphasise experiential learning increases, so does the demand for overseas school trips.
Karan Anand, Head — Relationships, Cox & Kings, said that the school tour category is growing at 18-20 per cent every year making it a good business opportunity. For Cox & Kings it is growing at 25-30 per cent annually.
Anita Louis, who runs an international school, said one of the reasons for organising such trips is “to expose the children to different cultures at an impressionable age.”
It is an invaluable experience, she said.
The trips are a combination of visits to science and nature centres and universities with a bit of sightseeing. Some schools prefer skill camps such as for cricket and soccer .
Popular destinationsMost popular destinations continue to be Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka as they are more affordable. Cost ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 a child for a 5/7-day trip. But of late destinations such as France, Germany, the US and the UK are getting popular, Anand said.
Interest from schools in the UK and South Africa to visit India is also increasing due to the common interest in cricket. Gupta said the company has already done a trip with a school from the UK, where they had organised cricket matches with schools in India. “We are getting more such requests,” he added.
The challenge here is customising the trip based on the school’s requirement and budget without compromising on safety. Gupta said, “What makes the trip different from regular tours is the focus on safety since it is children we are dealing with.”
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